This is an undated contributed photo of graphic artist and Ravenswood, Jackson County native Don Pendleton. Blenko Glass Co. announced in April 2024 a new collaboration between Pendleton and Blenko.
Graphic artist Don Pendleton, who has recently collaborated for a new line of owls and critters with Blenko Glass, is a native of Ravenswood, Jackson County.
Blenko Glass is releasing a new line of owls and other “critters” designed by graphic artist and West Virginia native Don Pendleton.
TORIL LAVENDER | Courtesy photo
This is an undated contributed photo of graphic artist and Ravenswood, Jackson County native Don Pendleton. Blenko Glass Co. announced in April 2024 a new collaboration between Pendleton and Blenko.
Graphic artist Don Pendleton, who has recently collaborated for a new line of owls and critters with Blenko Glass, is a native of Ravenswood, Jackson County.
MILTON — Blenko Glass has announced its new guest artist — West Virginia native and graphic artist Don Pendleton.
“Pendleton has made beautifully geometric, bold graphic art for skateboards, musicians, and even murals, such as the one that trims the Marshall Health Arena in Huntington. His charming creatures and characters come to life in his bold strokes and bright colors, which made him a natural fit for the ‘Most Colorful Name in Glass,’” according to a news release from Blenko.
Pendleton designed an owl bookend and “critter” statue for Blenko, carrying on a tradition of honoring these beautiful birds in glass forms. For someone whose work has always been two-dimensional, Pendleton said, it was a refreshing challenge to collaborate on three-dimensional glass art.
“The translation from flat to three-dimensional requires some adjustments and consideration,” Pendleton said in the release, but “the designers at Blenko were able to take the drawings and have them make sense as a 3D piece of art.”
Blenko enjoys working with Appalachian artists and creatives, and the feeling was mutual for Pendleton, a Ravenswood native.
He said he was aware while growing up about Blenko Glass and its impact in the Mountain State, but it was only when he got older and developed his art style that he realized that “their Midcentury glass vase shapes ... had an influence on some of [his] design work.”
“That was almost certainly what drew Creative Director Dr. James Arnett’s eyes to Pendleton’s work — the sleek lines, the geometric complexity and formality of Pendleton’s design work that speaks to the clean design of Blenko Glass,” according to the news release.
In addition to the owl bookends and critters, Pendleton has designed an Owl Family 6-inch sundisc. Each of these pieces is available on the Blenko Glass Co. website at bit.ly/Blenko_Pendleton.
